Dungeon Explorer II (PCE CD, 1993)
Graphics-6.5/8* Sound-8 Control-7 Challenge-7** Story-6.5
Level Design-7 Frustration-7 Fun-7 Originality-6
Overall Score-7
*Cutscenes
**Fighter class, 1-player
+
Up to 5-player co-op (same as DE1)
14 different chars/classes (6 of which are secret ones unlocked by meeting them in-game (they tell you the password to unlock them - these are always the same so you can input them without meeting them first), pick between 8 of them before beginning and these can attain a single class upgrade at one point (+1 INT and stronger attack, projectile and character sprite change) - for the others you can find a hidden special weapon instead)
Nice cutscenes (some are used for boss intros)
Same Gauntlet-like gameplay with more RPG elements (an overworld with towns, NPCs in towns and dungeons, minor puzzles (block and switch puzzles), item inventory, destructible enemy spawning points (most of them))
Can teleport to visited towns selected on a hub map via certain NPCs in towns by giving them a white potion (Riot (bard class) also gets a teleport spell as his white potion - can't be used during boss fights), Some shortcuts (to near the beginning of dungeons from boss rooms and from near dungeons to the beginning of hostile areas)
Manual stat increases via found crystal items which cycle through the stats (check the color - agility=movement speed (very fast movement after upgrading it a lot), attack power, power/str=max HP (also increases when leveling up which is done via large crystals dropped by the main bosses), intelligence=spell power/duration)
Can speed up dialogue on a per text box basis
Fast and free resting
Respawn on the spot until game over
Plenty of voice acting (so-so though, amateurish and melodramatic)
New game+ of sorts via the password feature (restart with previously gained stats)
Some decent bosses (1st boss/wolves, robot/medusa head, green golem, cyclops, flying head near dwarf forest, second to last boss) and some good ones (vampire lord - two phases, giant crab, desert monster, final boss - 3 phases and large sprite)
Can change character at bars after the first town (the previous one gives away their crystals meaning you can respec your stats as well)
Can stand still and aim by holding down fire (8 way aiming, DE1, similar to Diablo), temporary stat buff spells/potions and a shield, Ring of resistance (makes enemies less aggressive)+holy water (enemies flee)+reflector shots return, two interesting new spells (erase (not sure who gets it) - remove on screen enemy shots, binding (Efrem/wizard and Dorz/dwarf) - freeze enemies), enemies can also push some blocks/rocks, sometimes blurs the line between towns and hostile areas (in one town there's an ongoing zombie infestation though it's weird how the other townspeople don't talk about it at all), some environmental storytelling (fallen soldiers in Pyre castle), a few large and detailed sprites, optional arena - co-op mode only?
+/-
Partially non-linear structure (access two different hostile areas at a time (some are optional and lead to the hidden extra characters) - NPCs guide you towards a linear path, some hard level gating ("only the worthy may pass"), some key/story progression gating (ora's orb in second area, large boulder north of norville, etc.), two entrances to the vampire castle, gets more linear in the tree of life area, optional race against Tink which is basically an agility stat check (you only get a lifeseed though) and minor quest for the invisibility potion - no use for it?, two paths to take on the route to Sef after green golem however they connect almost immediately, optional special weapon side quest for xan/beast-man, optional dwarf forest maze)
Save anywhere outside of boss fights (only one slot per game though)
Password save as well (used to unlock the extra chars or to start a new game with a previously used char)
Lives system - can gamble for extra lives via a Blackjack mini-game in some towns (can hold up to 10 and you start with 5, lose all your potions/spell ammo when dying, placed lives (lifeseeds) are rare)
Enemies respawn as you exit the room/sub area they're in
Can heal (rest) at the bar in each town
Can't customize the classes (pick which spells to use for example - each one gets a set white magic (1 - white potion) and black magic (2 - black/skull potion) spell; fighter (alex)=1 half damage/2 2x attack power, thief (sepi)=1 increase one stat temporarily/2 war siren=weak smart bomb-style attack, fina (elf)=1 magic curing aka antidote+minor HP restoration/thunder bolt aka smart bomb)
Temporary power up items besides the big and small crystals - they last until death
Can't move while attacking (the break is short though)
Pretty forgiving hit detection when attacking enemies
Can attack but not hurt NPCs (nothing happens)
Would've probably been better if you could switch between chars at some points during exploration (or if there was a town portal item like in Diablo) as well as it would've allowed for more varied level design and abilities
Limited spell/potion inventory (9 of each)
No knockback when hitting or being hit by enemies, no shops or currency - potion/spell ammo drops are pretty infrequent, no keys and locked doors in dungeons, some strong and independent female chars (Miriam) which are also playable, some lore in libraries found in some towns (however it's very lightweight and doodads in houses are otherwise non-interactive), no dodge or block moves (can destroy some enemy projectiles though which is used in a puzzle room of sorts in the late game) - kind of simplistic combat, dark fantasy w/ sci-fi elements theme (one playable robot char), some spells are more situational (binding and war siren don't do anything to bosses for example), partial boss gauntlet before the final boss (interestingly you can choose which ones to fight but you don't see beforehand which boss each portal leads to, you also get healed after each one so it's fairly easy), hard to not die to the last boss but he's not hard to beat as the fighter if you have 3+ extra lives
-
No area maps (basic world map when teleporting, NPCs sometimes refer to places without giving directions to them, various mazes and some teleporter mazes)
Some control/interface issues (no strafing, somewhat slow rate of fire which can't be sped up with manual button mashing, still no magic/potion descriptions in-game (each class gets a white and a black spell which requires a potion with each use - some aren't even explained in the manual like war siren), very short invincibility time, dropped items disappear if you move away until they’re off screen, unskippable cutscenes, weird how you get stuck on signs and NPCs if trying to move l/r while standing right next to them and to the south of them - this makes you keep initiating dialogue with them)
Destructible enemy drops and placed power ups (they take a few hits at default weapon power but it can still be annoying)
Some dead space
Some NPCs act like pieces of a walkthrough or the manual
Plain visuals which aren't really an upgrade compared to the first game (mostly dark colors and mostly generic art style, towns look the same)
Most enemies don't drop anything (a bit annoying in situations where they can't be avoided)
No alternate main weapons and you don't gain new spells over the course of the game (the projectile and player sprite just change slightly when upgrading your class) - lessens the sense of progression
Antidote and healing should've been a generic item for all chars as well as a character specific spell (or the apple or ring could've been slightly more common)
Very short first couple of dungeons
No interesting new power up items besides the invisibility potion which has no known use
Some trial & error (sometimes can't go back after entering a dungeon, some surprise boss fights, some one way teleporters, some traps, finding prince barl after the centipede boss and knowing where to go after Pyr castle)
Riot (bard) gets a background music change black spell/potion (pointless) - means he kinda sucks when playing alone or even in 2-player
Can't upgrade your amount of shots on screen at once - two only which is kind of annoying if you have the ricochet item (mirror; if you're in-between two walls then the shots keep bouncing for a good while, can turn it off by picking up another mirror at least), two black magic spells do basically the same thing (hit all enemies on screen) and one is like a weaker version of this (mortal breath=kill random enemy on-screen) - some more interesting spells like invisibility/jumping/blocking/dodging/strafing/flight/break certain walls could've been added instead, bosses go down a bit too quickly when playing as the fighter and using his 2x damage spell, some enemies/destructible hazards take too many hits to kill - flows better with more players?, kinda repetitive (the game's puzzles don't increase much in complexity and it kinda forgets about breakable walls in some areas, also repeats some music tracks and some enemies are basically just sprite swaps), no difficulty options, some pointless dialogue choices (saying yes or no to sub quests), so-so enemy pathfinding, have to backtrack to Mir near Solis town to class change with each char you want promoted, can hit some hazards and enemies before they notice you if you take it slow, some NPCs say the exact same thing, pretty cliché and shallow story, slow movement in the desert, kind of tedious tower segment before the robot boss, the Sef NPC dialogue doesn't update after saving Barl, trial of heroes segment is a waste of time (a black potion is the only reward), can pick up temporary invincibility right before the giant toad boss, final dungeon is a large teleporter maze, dying far into the game creates a bit of a difficulty spike (you won't get to max stats with just the crystals gained from bosses - only around 13/20 on average, also can't regain potions/spell ammo during a boss fight)
Notes:
-Ported to SNES as Crystal Beans From Dungeon Explorer (different dungeon order and char sprites, some new bosses, 3-player only)
-Can't fully explore the ruins north of ardeen/south of brem?
Level Design-7 Frustration-7 Fun-7 Originality-6
Overall Score-7
*Cutscenes
**Fighter class, 1-player
+
Up to 5-player co-op (same as DE1)
14 different chars/classes (6 of which are secret ones unlocked by meeting them in-game (they tell you the password to unlock them - these are always the same so you can input them without meeting them first), pick between 8 of them before beginning and these can attain a single class upgrade at one point (+1 INT and stronger attack, projectile and character sprite change) - for the others you can find a hidden special weapon instead)
Nice cutscenes (some are used for boss intros)
Same Gauntlet-like gameplay with more RPG elements (an overworld with towns, NPCs in towns and dungeons, minor puzzles (block and switch puzzles), item inventory, destructible enemy spawning points (most of them))
Can teleport to visited towns selected on a hub map via certain NPCs in towns by giving them a white potion (Riot (bard class) also gets a teleport spell as his white potion - can't be used during boss fights), Some shortcuts (to near the beginning of dungeons from boss rooms and from near dungeons to the beginning of hostile areas)
Manual stat increases via found crystal items which cycle through the stats (check the color - agility=movement speed (very fast movement after upgrading it a lot), attack power, power/str=max HP (also increases when leveling up which is done via large crystals dropped by the main bosses), intelligence=spell power/duration)
Can speed up dialogue on a per text box basis
Fast and free resting
Respawn on the spot until game over
Plenty of voice acting (so-so though, amateurish and melodramatic)
New game+ of sorts via the password feature (restart with previously gained stats)
Some decent bosses (1st boss/wolves, robot/medusa head, green golem, cyclops, flying head near dwarf forest, second to last boss) and some good ones (vampire lord - two phases, giant crab, desert monster, final boss - 3 phases and large sprite)
Can change character at bars after the first town (the previous one gives away their crystals meaning you can respec your stats as well)
Can stand still and aim by holding down fire (8 way aiming, DE1, similar to Diablo), temporary stat buff spells/potions and a shield, Ring of resistance (makes enemies less aggressive)+holy water (enemies flee)+reflector shots return, two interesting new spells (erase (not sure who gets it) - remove on screen enemy shots, binding (Efrem/wizard and Dorz/dwarf) - freeze enemies), enemies can also push some blocks/rocks, sometimes blurs the line between towns and hostile areas (in one town there's an ongoing zombie infestation though it's weird how the other townspeople don't talk about it at all), some environmental storytelling (fallen soldiers in Pyre castle), a few large and detailed sprites, optional arena - co-op mode only?
+/-
Partially non-linear structure (access two different hostile areas at a time (some are optional and lead to the hidden extra characters) - NPCs guide you towards a linear path, some hard level gating ("only the worthy may pass"), some key/story progression gating (ora's orb in second area, large boulder north of norville, etc.), two entrances to the vampire castle, gets more linear in the tree of life area, optional race against Tink which is basically an agility stat check (you only get a lifeseed though) and minor quest for the invisibility potion - no use for it?, two paths to take on the route to Sef after green golem however they connect almost immediately, optional special weapon side quest for xan/beast-man, optional dwarf forest maze)
Save anywhere outside of boss fights (only one slot per game though)
Password save as well (used to unlock the extra chars or to start a new game with a previously used char)
Lives system - can gamble for extra lives via a Blackjack mini-game in some towns (can hold up to 10 and you start with 5, lose all your potions/spell ammo when dying, placed lives (lifeseeds) are rare)
Enemies respawn as you exit the room/sub area they're in
Can heal (rest) at the bar in each town
Can't customize the classes (pick which spells to use for example - each one gets a set white magic (1 - white potion) and black magic (2 - black/skull potion) spell; fighter (alex)=1 half damage/2 2x attack power, thief (sepi)=1 increase one stat temporarily/2 war siren=weak smart bomb-style attack, fina (elf)=1 magic curing aka antidote+minor HP restoration/thunder bolt aka smart bomb)
Temporary power up items besides the big and small crystals - they last until death
Can't move while attacking (the break is short though)
Pretty forgiving hit detection when attacking enemies
Can attack but not hurt NPCs (nothing happens)
Would've probably been better if you could switch between chars at some points during exploration (or if there was a town portal item like in Diablo) as well as it would've allowed for more varied level design and abilities
Limited spell/potion inventory (9 of each)
No knockback when hitting or being hit by enemies, no shops or currency - potion/spell ammo drops are pretty infrequent, no keys and locked doors in dungeons, some strong and independent female chars (Miriam) which are also playable, some lore in libraries found in some towns (however it's very lightweight and doodads in houses are otherwise non-interactive), no dodge or block moves (can destroy some enemy projectiles though which is used in a puzzle room of sorts in the late game) - kind of simplistic combat, dark fantasy w/ sci-fi elements theme (one playable robot char), some spells are more situational (binding and war siren don't do anything to bosses for example), partial boss gauntlet before the final boss (interestingly you can choose which ones to fight but you don't see beforehand which boss each portal leads to, you also get healed after each one so it's fairly easy), hard to not die to the last boss but he's not hard to beat as the fighter if you have 3+ extra lives
-
No area maps (basic world map when teleporting, NPCs sometimes refer to places without giving directions to them, various mazes and some teleporter mazes)
Some control/interface issues (no strafing, somewhat slow rate of fire which can't be sped up with manual button mashing, still no magic/potion descriptions in-game (each class gets a white and a black spell which requires a potion with each use - some aren't even explained in the manual like war siren), very short invincibility time, dropped items disappear if you move away until they’re off screen, unskippable cutscenes, weird how you get stuck on signs and NPCs if trying to move l/r while standing right next to them and to the south of them - this makes you keep initiating dialogue with them)
Destructible enemy drops and placed power ups (they take a few hits at default weapon power but it can still be annoying)
Some dead space
Some NPCs act like pieces of a walkthrough or the manual
Plain visuals which aren't really an upgrade compared to the first game (mostly dark colors and mostly generic art style, towns look the same)
Most enemies don't drop anything (a bit annoying in situations where they can't be avoided)
No alternate main weapons and you don't gain new spells over the course of the game (the projectile and player sprite just change slightly when upgrading your class) - lessens the sense of progression
Antidote and healing should've been a generic item for all chars as well as a character specific spell (or the apple or ring could've been slightly more common)
Very short first couple of dungeons
No interesting new power up items besides the invisibility potion which has no known use
Some trial & error (sometimes can't go back after entering a dungeon, some surprise boss fights, some one way teleporters, some traps, finding prince barl after the centipede boss and knowing where to go after Pyr castle)
Riot (bard) gets a background music change black spell/potion (pointless) - means he kinda sucks when playing alone or even in 2-player
Can't upgrade your amount of shots on screen at once - two only which is kind of annoying if you have the ricochet item (mirror; if you're in-between two walls then the shots keep bouncing for a good while, can turn it off by picking up another mirror at least), two black magic spells do basically the same thing (hit all enemies on screen) and one is like a weaker version of this (mortal breath=kill random enemy on-screen) - some more interesting spells like invisibility/jumping/blocking/dodging/strafing/flight/break certain walls could've been added instead, bosses go down a bit too quickly when playing as the fighter and using his 2x damage spell, some enemies/destructible hazards take too many hits to kill - flows better with more players?, kinda repetitive (the game's puzzles don't increase much in complexity and it kinda forgets about breakable walls in some areas, also repeats some music tracks and some enemies are basically just sprite swaps), no difficulty options, some pointless dialogue choices (saying yes or no to sub quests), so-so enemy pathfinding, have to backtrack to Mir near Solis town to class change with each char you want promoted, can hit some hazards and enemies before they notice you if you take it slow, some NPCs say the exact same thing, pretty cliché and shallow story, slow movement in the desert, kind of tedious tower segment before the robot boss, the Sef NPC dialogue doesn't update after saving Barl, trial of heroes segment is a waste of time (a black potion is the only reward), can pick up temporary invincibility right before the giant toad boss, final dungeon is a large teleporter maze, dying far into the game creates a bit of a difficulty spike (you won't get to max stats with just the crystals gained from bosses - only around 13/20 on average, also can't regain potions/spell ammo during a boss fight)
Notes:
-Ported to SNES as Crystal Beans From Dungeon Explorer (different dungeon order and char sprites, some new bosses, 3-player only)
-Can't fully explore the ruins north of ardeen/south of brem?